//------------------------------// // Camp Activities, New Magic, and Grimm // Story: Legend of Everfree: Another Story // by ArcanaMaverick7 //------------------------------// While everyone watched the battle between Rua and the Ursa Grimm, Twilight ran away because she believed herself to be responsible for ruining the dock before the battle. While she ran off into the forest alone, she didn't notice Azalea and Sunset Blaze seeing her run off. Using the former's Semblance to bend light around themselves, the two Huntresses became invisible and followed after Twilight to see what was wrong. Seeing nobody around as she approached a waterfall clearing, Twilight started to sing to herself like she did back at Crystal Prep when Fragment Hunter first learned of her. It used to be so simple It was a world I understood I didn't know what I didn't know And life seemed pretty good But now the darkness rises From somewhere deep inside of me Her power overtakes me Can I keep this midnight from getting free? As Twilight looked at her reflection in the water, she believed that she grew wings. Checking to see if she did have them or not, Twilight backed away from her reflection while her unseen audience looked on in concern before she began to move through the light shining into the forest. If I can stay with the light I know I'll be free And I can start to be whole I can start to be me But instead I am struggling With all that I see And these friends Mustn't see the midnight in me! The midnight in me! As Twilight sang, she looked back at her reflection in the water and imagined what she feared. Staring back at her was herself as Midnight Sparkle, but she moved her hand across the water as she suppressed her emotions and her reflection changed back to normal in her eyes. They mustn't see the midnight in me... As Twilight sat by the water in sorrowful solitude, Azalea and Sunset Blaze looked at each other while they silently worried about Twilight's emotional state. Deciding to give her some space for the time being, they hid in the bushes until she chose to return to camp. Back at the camp after everyone helped with getting the damaged dock under control, Sunset Shimmer was looking for Twilight. "Where is she," Shimmer questioned. "I haven't seen her since the crash and that Grimm attack." Returning to the tents, Sunset thought that Twilight must have returned to the Sapphire Tent to read a few books. Entering the tent, she saw that Twilight wasn't inside and only saw Spike talking in his sleep. "So many squirrels," the dog muttered. As Sunset said his name and nudged him, the dog was startled awake. "Aw, man! I was having the best dream," Spike complained as he rubbed his face with a paw before realizing something. "Wait. That dream could be a reality!" "Before you run off to chase squirrels, do you have any idea where Twilight could be? I really need to talk to her," Sunset told Spike just as he started to run out of the tent. "What happened," Spike asked as he turned to Sunset Shimmer. "Did she do that lifting things off the ground thing again?" "That's just it. I don't know if it was her. But if it was, we need to deal with it head on," Sunset explained as she hit her palm with her fist and had a look of determination in her eyes. "I can track her down," Spike told Sunset. "Maybe Azalea's dogs can help us. Think you can convince them," Sunset remarked. "I'll try," Spike said as the two began to leave the tent. Just as they left, Dante, Diana, and Drei were all approaching the girl. "Hey, can you help us out? We're looking for Twilight. Glasses, stripes of color in her hair, was hanging around Azalea for a while. Think you can track her down with me," Spike asked. Hearing the talking dog's request, the three canines all entered the Sapphire Tent and started sniffing to find Twilight's scent. When they did, Sunset and the four dogs entered the woods to search for Twilight. In the forest, Twilight was returning to camp and struggled to compose herself because of her fears and anxiety. "Keep it together. Deep breaths. You are not a monster," she said to herself as Azalea and Sunset Blaze followed her in secret. Just as Twilight passed by a tree, Timber Spruce appeared on the other side and the two screamed when they noticed each other suddenly showing up. "Oh, hi," Twilight chuckled in embarrassment as she encountered Timber. "What are you doing here?" "Uh... Looking for you," Timber said in reply, but Azalea and Sunset Blaze thought it was an excuse he just made up. "Oh, I just went on a nature walk and got a little lost," Twilight told Timber. "Let me show you the way," Timber offered as he pointed down the path. "I'm kind of an expert at these woods. I've lived here my whole life." As Twilight walked alongside Timber, Azalea and Sunset Blaze followed them through the forest in secret. "That must have been nice. Growing up at a camp," Twilight remarked. "Yeah, though it has its downsides," Timber mentioned as he moved a tree branch out of his path. "When I was younger, I wished we'd sell this place so we could live in a town like normal people." "Really," Twilight asked in disbelief as they stopped and she put her hands on her hips. "I was ten. I really wanted to hang out at the mall," Timber shrugged as he and Twilight shared a laugh before blushing. "I've never told that to anyone. You must be special," he told Twilight. "And not just because you have a tree branch in your hair," he added as he pulled a twig out from Twilight's ponytail. "Ugh. How long has that been in there," Twilight asked as she checked her hair for anything else stuck in it. Of to the side, the invisible Huntresses were giggling silently at the scene. "Not long. Just the whole time we were talking," Timber shrugged and earned a light hit from Twilight. "Well, why didn't you say something," Twilight asked with a chuckle. As she and Timber continued to walk back to camp, Azalea stopped using her Semblance to cloak herself and Sunset Blaze. Looking next to them, they saw Sunset Shimmer, Spike, and Azalea's dogs all listening in on the conversation. "I guess we can help Twilight deal with the magic stuff a little later," Sunset Shimmer told Spike and the girls as she turned to them. They all nodded in agreement before returning to camp at their own pace. Back at the campgrounds, the visitors from Remnant were doing their own things alongside the campers from Canterlot High. Momo, Bianca, and Ivy were in the mess hall decorating cookies with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie while the others did more physical activities. Celadon and Cereza went for a walk in the forest while Lapis decided to join Trixie and Micro Chips as they went fishing at a nearby river. Rebecca, Silver, Rua, and Vinyl were rock climbing alongside Applejack and Rarity while Rainbow Dash impatiently waited for her own turn. "Rock climbing is all about perseverance and trust," Celestia explained as she, Terracotta, and Ventus supervised the teenagers, with the latter perched on top of the rock climbing wall like a bird. "Rarity, you can trust that Applejack will spot you." "Yeah, so you can totally go faster than you're going," Rainbow Dash complained, shocking Applejack because of the blunt comment. "Sorry. I've been waiting to do this since we got here," Rainbow said as she apologized. "Well, you have to wait a little longer, darling," Rarity stated as she began to climb. "Hey, is it even a good idea to climb a rock wall in heels," Silver asked as Rua spotted him. "My boots are designed for function and fashion," Rarity told the Wolf Faunus. "They won't break that easily." "They still might get caught on something if you're not careful," Rebecca mentioned as she swiftly climbed higher than Silver and Rarity. "That's why I'm going at the pace I am," Rarity replied. Back on the ground, Vinyl was listening her music while spotting Rebecca and saw that Rainbow Dash was getting impatient with the wait. Seeing Twilight and Timber approaching them, Rainbow was happy to see her friend. "Oh, good! Twilight, if you spot me, I can finally go," Rainbow said before she started running off. "I'll go get another harness." While Twilight was unsure about being Rainbow Dash's rock climbing partner, Timber told her that he needed to find Gloriosa. As he walked off, Twilight gazed lovingly at him until she heard dogs barking. Seeing Dante, Diana, and Drei being chased by Azalea and Blaze, Sunset Shimmer walked up to Twilight with Spike in her arms. "Twilight, there you are! I was looking for you," Shimmer exclaimed. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and startle everyone. When the shaking stopped, everyone wondered what happened. "Was that an earthquake," Spike asked as Twilight adjusted her glasses. "We aren't near any fault lines," Twilight stated in response. "That didn't feel like an earthquake to me," Terracotta told the girls as he made sure they and Azalea were alright. "Sounded more like a rock slide happened nearby." "Didn't Timber and Gloriosa say there was a rock quarry near the camp," Azalea asked as she pet Diana and Drei. "I swear that something is going on here," Slate told everyone as he walked up to the group. "Hey! Who left this crystaly dusty stuff here," Bulk Biceps shouted as he, Derpy, and Flash Sentry noticed a trail of gem dust similar to what appeared at the dock when the sailboat crashed into it. While Rebecca and Silver wondered about what happened, Rarity lost her grip and yelped as she began flailing before holding onto her rope. "I-I believe I'd like to come down now," Rarity called down to Applejack as she gave a thumbs-up. "We'll meet you down there," Rebecca said as she and Silver signaled to Vinyl and Rua. As the members of Fragment Hunter were safely lowered, they removed their harnesses to see that Applejack was struggling to move the belay rope. "Sorry, it's a little bit stuck," Applejack told Rarity, not noticing her hands were glowing. With another pull on the belay, Applejack ended up hoisting Rarity into the air and made her scream at the unexpected trip up the wall and caught everyone's attention. Surprised by her strength, Applejack lost her hold on the rope and Rarity screamed as she began to plummet to the ground. Before she could hit the ground, Applejack grabbed the rope at the last second to stop her friend from getting hurt. "Applejack! What are you doing," Rarity yelled as she put her feet on the ground. "Is everything okay over there," Celestia, Ventus, and Terracotta asked as they approached Rarity and Applejack. "Uh, I don't know what happened. I didn't even pull the rope that hard. It's like she was light as a feather all of a sudden," Applejack explained as a crowd gathered and Rarity tried to take off her harness. Terracotta put his fingers to his chin as he thought of what Applejack said. "I was scared half to death," Rarity chastised as she struggled with her harness. "It wasn't my fault! Let me help you get your harness out," Applejack said as she approach Rarity. "No, thank you," Rarity exclaimed as she lifted up her hands. But as she did, a large diamond shield appeared and pushed Applejack away into the bushes near the lake. Everyone heard a splash and Applejack soon walked back out of the view, soaking wet and spitting water out of her mouth. "What in the world just happened," Celestia and everyone from Remnant asked as the principal went to make sure Applejack was okay. "Oh, dear! I am so sorry! I think," Rarity apologized, but was unsure of what occurred. "Did I just do whatever that was?" Before an answer could be given, everyone heard a loud hissing noise coming from the forest. Turning in the direction of the sound, everyone saw large mantis-like monsters with black and white bodies, red eyes, and had scythe-like limbs. Some of them had horns that resembled a stag beetle's pincers while one or two of them had multiple horns and actual mandibles like a stag beetle. "What are those," Twilight asked in fear as everyone from CHS slowly backed away from the insects. "Scykiri," Sunset Blaze said as she and the rest of the Huntsmen and Huntresses from Remnant stared down the Grimm. Seeing the Grimm, Vinyl activated her Hard Light Projection Braces, aka 'Rhythm Scratch' and began to play music from them as she created a pair of clawed gauntlets made of out gold light. As the song played, Vinyl charged toward the swarm and slashed away at the Grimm insects with ease. As the monsters saw Vinyl carving through their swarm, they jumped or flew away from the girl before generating green lightning from their horns. The ones with multiple horns fired their attacks similar to a rail gun while the others blasted the nearby area with streams of electricity at random. "Come on," Rua told the others as she equipped to weapon and teleported to one of the larger Scykiri to stab it in the eye. At the same time, Ventus and Terracotta prioritized the safety of the bystanders while Sunset Blaze used her Fire Dust Jacket to burn away at any Grimm that got too close. As Fragment Hunter fought against the swarm of Grimm, some started to slip away to attack the campers from CHS. Rarity screamed as one of the larger Scykiri with multiple horns jumped at her and tried to attack her with its arms. Throwing up her hands, Rarity created another diamond shield that blocked the attack and confused the Grimm. "Get away," Applejack called out as she ran toward the Grimm mantis and kicked it in the thorax. When she did, it went flying into several other Scykiri before they evaporated upon death. "Whoa... Did I," Applejack questioned before she saw one of the younger Scykiri jump towards her. Screaming as it positioned its arms to cut off her head, Applejack watched as Ventus Gaia grabbed the Grimm's head with his talons and began to crush it before shooting the Grimm with his greaves. Soon, the battle came to a close when Vinyl created a disk of hard light and threw it at the final Scykiri. Terracotta leapt onto the disk and jumped off of it before grabbing the Grimm. Adjusting his grip on the monster, Terracotta performed a piledriver that killed the insectoid creature on impact with the ground. As everyone caught their breath, Silver exclaimed his confusion and frustration with everything. "Okay, this is getting weird! Is there anything else that's going to happen?!" Soon, Twilight and Sunset Shimmer began to talk about what happened before the Scykiri showed up. "You're not the only one with a new kind of magic! This is great," Shimmer told Twilight as they walked away from the group. "No, it's not! Rarity and Applejack could have really hurt each other! Not to mention those Grimm appearing! Why is this happening," Twilight exclaimed as she became distressed about everything that was happening. "Hi, girls," Gloriosa said as she walked up to Twilight and Sunset. "Anything I can do for you?" "Uh, Applejack fell into the lake," Twilight said as she pointed back to the rock climbing wall. "Oh, no! She's gonna need warm towels, dry clothes, oh, and a hot cocoa! I've got this," Gloriosa said as she left to go get the supplies she listed. As soon as Gloriosa left, Azalea, Terracotta, and Slate began walking toward the girls just as they all heard a scream coming from the mess hall. "Fluttershy," Twilight and Sunset questioned as they recognized the scream. The group all rushed over to the mess hall to see what happened and if there was any more trouble.